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Egan Bernal (left) and Adam Yates (right) crossed the finish line together
Photo: STUART FRANKLIN / AFP
Frenchman Nans Peters (Ag2r La Mondiale) has won the eighth stage of the Tour de France after a long escape.
Peters was the first to cross the finish line after 141 kilometers from Cazères-sur-Garonne to Loudenville.
Latvian Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) crossed the finish line in second place, 47 seconds behind, ahead of the Spaniard Carlos Verona (Movistar).
Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) struggled to defend his yellow jersey against pursuers Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma) in a group of favorites for overall victory and still has a three-second lead.
On the last mountain of the stage, the Col de Peyresourde, there were a few attacks by the top riders, including third-placed Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic).
Roglic was able to keep up with the pace and put the leader under pressure.
Yates fell behind several times, but kept catching up.
The group rolled over the finish line together.
Meanwhile, Thibaut Pinot, also a candidate for overall victory, was disappointed.
The Frenchman dropped out of the peloton at Port de Balès, a mountain in the heaviest category.
His teammates accompanied Pinot, but could not lead him back into the field.
In the end he lost several minutes to the top of the race and will therefore no longer have a chance of the yellow jersey.
Even the German driver Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) could not keep the pace of the group around Roglic and Yates in the end, he lost about a minute.
Shortly after the start, a breakaway group of 13 riders pulled away from the peloton, including Benoît Cosnefroy, who wore the mountain jersey.
Together the group reached the first mountain of the Pyrenees stage, Cosnefroy won the first category.
At Port de Balès, however, the leading group fell apart.
Ilnur Zakarin and Nans Peters separated from their colleagues.
Peters then drove away Zakarin on the descent and defended his lead to the finish.
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